Man broke Chinese Kung-Fu Warrior's thumb

[theking]

Man pleads guilty to breaking off thumb of terracotta warrior worth $4.5 million

Michael Rohana, 29, of Bear, Delaware, pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking in archaeological resources in a Pennsylvania court on Monday. The misdemeanor charge could earn Rohana one year in jail when he's sentenced on Aug. 17.

Prosecutors then charged Rohana under the federal art theft statute at his trial the following year. An individual can be charged under the law if the item stolen meets the threshold of being either at least 100 years old and worth more than $5,000 or worth at least $100,000.

Under this law, Rohana could have faced a maximum prison sentence of 10 years and a fine.

His attorneys, public defenders Catherine C. Henry and Nancy MacEoin, argued that the statute is only applicable for art thieves, as Rohana’s case was the first time the law was applied to a person whose motive was to vandalize, not for financial gain.

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“These charges were made for art thieves — think like ‘Ocean’s Eleven’ or ‘Mission: Impossible,’” Henry said during her closing argument in the 2019 trial, adding that the man “wasn’t in ninja clothing sneaking around the museum. He was a drunk kid in a bright green ugly Christmas sweater.”

Another factor that lessened Rohana’s sentence was the actual value of the terracotta warrior’s thumb.

Jurors were left confused after art appraisers disagreed over the thumb’s value, as the prosecution argued the thumb was worth more than $150,000.